More ferry questions to be answered
Jersey's unsurprising selection of DFDS as its favoured ferry operator from next spring is likely to change the mood quite a bit when the Economic Development Committee president meets a Scrutiny panel next week.
Deputy Neil Inder’s last round of questioning, in the States last month, was a triumphant affair, with political colleagues looking keen to throw their Jersey counterparts under the bus for their ‘mishandling’ of the process.
This time around, he can expect different questions. Shouldn’t we have another fast ferry available? Are you confident that freight costs won’t spiral? And when might we get brand new ships?
Let alone addressing the full implications, now very real, of two islands running their own ferry services.
News of the Guernsey contract signing, completed behind closed doors when one might have expected it to be a media event, came with bullish quotes about robust finances and confidence.
But both islands are guinea pigs now. The holidaymaker and the businessman, the freight carrier and the third party buying their goods. We hope that the certainty in scheduling we’re now being offered may prove to be better than before.
But there’s a nagging feeling that we might not be surprised if neither operator actually sees out its full 15-year contract. As Deputy Inder surely knows, there’s a lot more questions still to answer.